1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling air supplying device in a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a cooling air supplying device in a refrigerator, which is capable of impartially and rapidly supplying cooling air to a chilling chamber.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, a refrigerator is divided into a freezing chamber for keeping an ice making container and frozen food and a chilling chamber for keeping cold food. The refrigerator includes a freezing cycle for supplying cooling air to the freezing chamber and the chilling chamber.
A common type refrigerator, where the freezing chamber and the chilling chamber are arranged in a vertical direction, and a side-by-side type refrigerator having a large capacity, where the freezing chamber and the chilling chamber are arranged in a horizontal direction, are mainly used.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a partially sectioned side-by-side type refrigerator according to a conventional technology. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line Axe2x80x94A.
A conventional refrigerator includes a main frame 204, in which a pair of doors 202 bi-directionally opened and closed are installed in the front portion and a receipt space is included, a freezing chamber 206 arranged on either the left side or the right side of the main frame 204, the freezing chamber 106 for keeping frozen food, a chilling chamber 208 separated from the chilling chamber 206 by a mullion wall 210 and arranged on the other side of the main frame 204, the chilling chamber 208 for keeping cold food, a freezing chamber cooling air supplying device installed in the upper portion of the freezing chamber 206, the freezing chamber cooling air supplying device for supplying the air cooled while passing through the freezing cycle (not shown) to the freezing chamber 106, and a chilling chamber cooling air supplying device connected to the freezing chamber cooling air supplying device, the chilling chamber cooling air supplying device for supplying the cooling air to the chilling chamber 208.
A plurality of shelves 212 and 214 are installed in the freezing chamber 206 and the chilling chamber 208 to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance so that food can be kept by layers. Vegetable boxes 216 and 218 for keeping vegetables are bedded in the lower portion of the shelves 212 and 214.
The freezing cooling air supplying device includes a blast fan 220 installed on the hind surface in the upper portion of the freezing chamber 206, the freezing chamber cooling air supplying device for forcibly bowing the air cooled whiled passing through the freezing cycle, a first panel 226 arranged in front of the blast fan 220 and having a plurality of discharge openings 224 so that the cooling air blown by the blast fan 220 is discharged into an ice maker 222, and a second panel 228 arranged below the blast fan 220 and having a plurality of discharge openings 230 so that the cooling air is discharged into the freezing chamber 206.
The chilling chamber cooling air supplying device includes a cooling air supply path 232 formed in the upper portion of the mullion wall 210 so as to discharge the cooling air blown from the blast fan 220 installed in the freezing chamber 206 into the chilling chamber 208, a cooling air discharge duct 234 installed in the upper portion of the chilling chamber 208 and connected to the cooling air supply path 232, the cooling air discharge duct 234 for discharging the cooling air supplied to the cooling air supply path 232 into the chilling chamber 208, and a cooling air suction path 238 formed in the lower portion of the mullion wall 210, the cooling air suction path 238 for sucking up the cooling air that completed a cooling operation while circulating in the chilling chamber 208 into the freezing cycle.
The cooling air discharge duct 234 is horizontally arranged in the upper portion of the chilling chamber 208. One side of the cooling air discharge duct 234 is opened to be connected to the cooling air supply path 232. A plurality of cooling air discharge openings 236 for discharging the cooling air into the chilling chamber 208 are formed in the front portion of the cooling air discharge duct 234.
According to the conventional side-by-side type refrigerator having the above structure, when the freezing cycle is driven and the blast fan 220 is rotated, the air cooled while passing through the freezing cycle is discharged into the discharge openings 224 of the first panel, the discharge openings 230 of the second panel, and the cooling air supply path 232 by the blast pressure of the blast fan 220.
The cooling air discharged into the discharge openings 224 of the first panel is supplied to the ice maker 222, to thus make ice. The air discharged into the discharge openings 230 of the second panel freezes the frozen food stored in the freezing chamber 206 while circulating the freezing chamber 206.
The cooling air supplied to the cooling air supply path 232 is sucked up into the cooling air discharge duct 234 and is discharged into the chilling chamber 208 through the cooling air discharge openings 236 formed in the cooling air discharge duct 234. The cooling air discharged into the chilling chamber 208 cools the cold food kept in the chilling chamber 208 while circulating in the chilling chamber 208. The cooling air that completed the cooling operation is sucked up into a cooling cycle through the cooling air suction path 238 formed in the lower portion of the mullion wall 210 and is cooled again while passing through the cooling cycle.
However, according to the chilling chamber cooling air supplying device of the above conventional refrigerator, the cooling air is discharged only through the discharge openings 236 formed in the cooling air discharge duct since the cooling air discharge duct 234 is horizontally arranged in the upper portion of the chilling chamber 208. Therefore, the food stored in the upper portion of the chilling chamber 208 is excessively cooled since the food is significantly affected by the cooling air. The food stored in the lower portion of the chilling chamber 208 is weakly cooled since the food is less affected by the cooling air.
That is, the deviation of temperature of the cooling air supplied from the upper portion of the chilling chamber to the lower portion of the chilling chamber becomes more significant and the temperatures of the respective cells divided by the shelves are different from each other according to the distances from the cooling air discharge openings. Accordingly, the spread of temperature of the chilling chamber is not uniform.
Also, since the cooling air is supplied from the upper portion of the chilling chamber to the lower portion of the chilling chamber, the cooling air cannot smoothly circulate in the chilling chamber due to the shelves for separating the respective cells from each other.
Also, since the cooling air is discharged from only the upper portion of the chilling chamber, it takes longer to cool the entire chilling chamber. Accordingly, the freshness of the food stored in the chilling chamber deteriorates.
Also, it is difficult to rapidly cope with a rise in temperature of the chilling chamber, which is caused by frequently opening and closing the door of the chilling chamber in summer.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator, which is capable of impartially supplying cooling air to the respective cells divided by the shelves of a chilling chamber, to thus make the spread of temperature of the chilling chamber uniform.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator, which is capable of letting the cooling air discharged from around the door of the chilling chamber, to thus prevent a rise in temperature of the chilling chamber, which is caused by frequently opening and closing the door of the chilling chamber, and to thus prevent a drop in temperature of the food stored near the door.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling air supplying device of a chilling chamber, which is capable of letting the cooling air discharged from predetermined protrusions on both side surfaces of the chilling chamber, to thus prevent the cooling air from leaking out of an opening between the chilling chamber and a door gasket.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator, which is capable of letting the cooling air discharged into a vegetable chamber, in which the vegetable boxes of the chilling chamber are bedded, to thus smoothly cool the vegetable chamber.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator, which is capable of providing blast pressure to the cooling air discharged into the chilling chamber, to thus rapidly cool the chilling chamber and to thus reduce time corresponding to the load of the chilling chamber.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator, comprising a cooling air supply path formed in the upper portion of a mullion wall for separating a freezing chamber from a chilling chamber, the cooling air supply path for supplying cooling air blown from a blast fan arranged in the freezing chamber to the chilling chamber, a discharge duct connected to the cooling air supply path and installed in the upper portion of the chilling chamber, the discharge duct for discharging the cooling air from the upper portion of the chilling chamber, cooling air guide channels connected to the discharge duct, the cooling air guide channels for guiding the cooling air to one side or both sides of the chilling chamber, and cooling air discharge units connected to the cooling air guide channels and formed on one side surface or the both side surfaces of a main frame, the cooling air discharge units for discharging the cooling air from the side surface of the chilling chamber into the respective cells divided by shelves.
The discharge duct is horizontally attached to the hind wall in the upper portion of the chilling chamber and has a plurality of discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the upper portion of the chilling chamber in the front portion.
The cooling air guide channels comprise a first cooling air guide channel connected to the lower portion of the discharge duct and vertically formed in the hind portion of the chilling chamber and a second cooling air guide channels formed to extend from the first cooling air guide channel to the both side walls of the chilling chamber.
The second cooling air guide channels are formed to extend from the first cooling air guide channel to the respective cells to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance, to thus guide the cooling air to the respective cells divided by the shelves of the chilling chamber.
The cooling air discharge units comprise left discharge ducts connected to the guide channels extending to the left side among the second cooling air guide channels, the left discharge ducts for discharging the cooling air from the left side of the chilling chamber and right discharge ducts connected to the guide channels extending to the right side among the second cooling air guide channels, the right discharge ducts for discharging the cooling air from the right side of the chilling chamber.
The left and right discharge ducts are formed in the respective cells on the left and right sides of the chilling chamber and cooling air discharge openings for discharging the cooling air are formed in the front portion of the left and right discharge ducts to protrude by a predetermined width to the inside of the chilling chamber on the left and right sides of the chilling chamber.
The left and right discharge ducts are formed on the both side walls near the door of the refrigerator.
The left and right discharge ducts are formed to protrude above the portion where a door gasket attached to the door of the chilling chamber contacts the opened surface of the chilling chamber by a predetermined width.
The cooling air discharge units comprise the cooling air discharge ducts connected to the cooling air guide channels extending to the side direction of the chilling chamber and vertically loaded on the side surface of the chilling chamber and the plurality of cooling air discharge openings formed in the front portion of the cooling air discharge ducts to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance, the cooling air discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the respective cells divided by the shelves.
The cooling air discharge ducts comprise a left discharge duct connected to the cooling air guide channels extending to the left side of the chilling chamber and vertically installed on the left side surface of the chilling chamber near the door and a right discharge duct connected to the cooling air guide channels extending to the right side of the chilling chamber and vertically installed on the right side surface of the chilling chamber near the door.
Each one side of the cooling air discharge ducts is formed to protrude by a predetermined width to the inside of the chilling chamber so that each one side of the cooling air discharge ducts contacts the door gasket attached to the door for opening and closing the chilling chamber.
A cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooling air supply path formed in the upper portion of a mullion wall for separating a freezing chamber from a chilling chamber, the cooling air supply path for supplying cooling air blown from a blast fan installed in the freezing chamber to the chilling chamber, a cooling air guide duct connected to the cooling air supply path and installed in the upper portion of the chilling chamber, the cooling air guide duct for guiding the cooling air supplied to the cooling air supply path to one side wall or both side walls of the left and right side walls of the chilling chamber, and discharge ducts connected to the cooling air guide duct and loaded on one surface or the both surfaces of the left and right sides of the chilling chamber, the discharge ducts for discharging the cooling air guided by the cooling air guide duct into the respective cells of the chilling chamber.
The cooling air guide duct is horizontally loaded on the hind wall in the upper portion of the chilling chamber, one side of the cooling air guide duct is connected to the cooling air supply path, and left and right guide paths for supplying the cooling air to the left and right sides of the chilling chamber are formed on the left and right sides in the front portion.
The discharge ducts comprise a left discharge duct connected to the left guide path of the cooling air guide duct, formed on the left side wall of the chilling chamber to protrude to the inside of the chilling chamber, and having a plurality of left discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the respective cells divided by the shelves in the front portion and a right discharge duct connected to the right guide path of the cooling air guide duct, formed on the right side wall of the chilling chamber to protrude to the inside of the chilling chamber, having a plurality of right discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the respective cells divided by the shelves in the front portion.
The left and right discharge ducts are attached on the left and right side walls of the chilling chamber to occupy wide areas and each one side surface tilts to have a predetermined tilt angle so as to contact the door gasket loaded in the door.
The left and right discharge openings are formed in the front portion of the left and right discharge ducts to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance so that the cooling air is discharged into the respective cells divided by the shelves and are horizontally arranged in two row.
A cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooling air supply path formed in the upper portion of a mullion wall for separating a freezing chamber from a chilling chamber, the cooling air supply path for supplying cooling air blown from a blast fan installed in the freezing chamber to the chilling chamber, a cooling air guide duct connected to cooling air supply path and installed in the upper portion of the chilling chamber, the cooling air guide duct for guiding the cooling air supplied to the cooling air supply path to one side wall or both side walls of the left and right side walls of the chilling chamber, and a cooling air discharge duct connected to the cooling air guide duct and loaded on one side surface or on the both side surfaces of the left and right sides of the chilling chamber, the cooling air discharge duct for discharging the cooling air from the side surface of the chilling chamber into the respective cells and discharging the cooling air into the vegetable chambers, in which vegetable boxes are bedded.
The cooling air discharge duct is formed near the door so that the cooling air is discharged from the door into the chamber, a plurality of discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the respective cells divided by the shelves are formed in the front portion to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance, and the cooling air discharge duct is formed to extend to the vegetable chambers of the chilling chamber so as to discharge the cooling air into the vegetable chambers.
Cooling air discharge openings for discharging the cooling air into the vegetable chambers are formed in the portion extended to the vegetable chambers of the cooling air discharge duct.
The vegetable storage boxes are bedded in the vegetable chambers to be separated from the both side walls and the hind wall of the chilling chamber by predetermined distances so that the cooling air discharged through the discharge openings can smoothly circulate around the vegetable storage boxes.
A cooling air supplying device of a refrigerator according to the present invention includes a cooling air supply path formed in the upper portion of a mullion wall for separating a freezing chamber from a chilling chamber, the cooling air supply path for supplying cooling air blown from a blast fan installed in the freezing chamber to the chilling chamber, a discharge duct 34 connected to the cooling air supply path 32 and installed in the upper portion of the chilling chamber, the discharge duct for discharging the cooling air from the chilling chamber, cooling air guide channels connected to the discharge duct 34, the cooling air guide channels for guiding the cooling air to one side surface or both side surfaces of the chilling chamber, cooling air discharge units connected to the cooling air guide channels and formed, one surface or both surfaces of a main frame, the cooling air discharge units for discharging the cooling air into the respective cells divided by the shelves on the side surface of the chilling chamber, and a pressure fan installed in the discharge duct, the pressure fan for providing blast pressure to the cooling air discharged into the chilling chamber.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.